ABSTRACT
If the mood of those who stood around waiting for the ceremony to begin on the day of the winter solstice in 105 bc1 had been one of loyalty, pride and hope, it may be asked what was the dominant feeling of those who attended the ceremonies of court in ad 9, when solemn acts of state signified the inauguration of the Hsin dynasty of Wang Mang. The claim that Wang Mang had been acting the part of a second Duke of Chou was almost certainly advanced with his connivance. Wang Mang's rise to prominence had depended to some extent on the good fortune and high positions which had been enjoyed by his forbears in the fifty years which immediately preceded his accession. Under Wang Mang's government, Yang Hsiung either refused or was never invited to accept high office; and in ad 11 he was implicated in a plot against Wang Mang and nearly arrested.
